{"id":12114,"date":"2025-06-25T00:33:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T00:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/12114\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T00:33:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T00:33:09","slug":"new-look-at-ultraman-in-superman-whos-under-the-mask","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/12114\/","title":{"rendered":"New Look at Ultraman in ‘Superman’ \u2014 Who’s Under the Mask?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cSuperman<\/a>\u201d releases in just over two weeks, and the marketing campaign for the film continues in overdrive. Today, James Gunn<\/a> released an image of \u201cUltraman,\u201d presumably one of the film\u2019s primary villains \u2014 but fans are still wondering who\u2019s under the mask.<\/p>\n

Gunn shared a close-up of the villain in-costume on his X account, simply captioning the image \u201cUltraman.\u201d Though the superpowered threat has been present since the first official teaser for \u201cSuperman,\u201d this reveal gives us by far the best look at the character to date. <\/p>\n

While many depictions grant Superman a nearly indestructible suit \u2014\u00a0whether by an extension of his powers or a perk of Kryptonian fabric \u2014\u00a0Ultraman\u2019s uniform clearly lacks the same quality. The image highlights just how ratty Ultraman\u2019s costume truly is, with cracked goggles and fabric actively falling off the mask. It\u2019s a disturbing look, one that stands in contrast to the pristine uniform worn by heroes in the film.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What do we know about Ultraman?<\/p>\n

Little is presently known about Ultraman\u2019s identity or role in the film aside from his alliance with Lex Luthor (who Gunn states is the film\u2019s primary villain<\/a>) and The Engineer. But that has not stopped fans from speculating. Trailer footage shows Ultraman overpowering Superman in a number of sequences, most prominently their fight in the Metropolis Meteors baseball stadium. With powers mimicking Superman\u2019s own, the list of possible identities for Ultraman narrows down.<\/p>\n

More recent footage has given another hint to the character, as trailers feature glimpses that appear to be an unmasked Ultraman fighting the Last Son of Krypton. This figure, using heat vision and wearing a suit resembling Ultraman\u2019s, has notably long and messy hair, fueling more speculation over the character.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Superman\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Who is Ultraman?<\/p>\n

In the comics, Ultraman hails from Earth-3 (a dimension which flips the roles of heroes and villains) and leads the villainous Justice Syndicate. The villain was introduced in 1964\u2019s \u201cJustice League of America #29\u201d by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky. Rather than harming him, green Kryptonite typically gives Ultraman power.<\/p>\n

Like most DC characters, has a number of different origins affected by events like \u201cCrisis on Infinite Earths\u201d and \u201cFlashpoint.\u201d In the New 52 continuity, Ultraman (whose real name was then Kal-Il) overpowered the Justice League with his Justice Syndicate, taking over the world as part of the \u201cForever Evil\u201d event. <\/p>\n

At this time, a straight adaptation of Ultraman feels highly unlikely. The character is rooted in multiversal lore that would be a tough hurdle for the first film in a burgeoning universe. It seems far more likely that elements of the character will be adapted, such as his name and basic concept as an \u201cevil Superman.\u201d With trailers highlighting Lex Luthor\u2019s access to Kryptonite, it\u2019s even possible that the character\u2019s drug-like use of the substance will be carried over.<\/p>\n

Could Ultraman be Doomsday?<\/p>\n

Another unlikely theory claims that Ultraman will be some version of the dreaded Superman villain Doomsday. This theory mainly draws from the character\u2019s costuming. As seen in this new look, the suit \u2014\u00a0and, particularly, goggles \u2014\u00a0worn by Ultraman bear some resemblance to the containment suit initially worn by the villain that famously killed Superman. As Doomsday gains power and becomes more nightmarish, this suit progressively breaks until the bony behemoth is released.<\/p>\n

Again, it\u2019s hard to imagine this theory will come true. DC already caught flak for adapting \u201cThe Death of Superman\u201d in \u201cBatman v. Superman,\u201d as that was only the second film in the franchise to feature the Man of Steel. Were the studio to repeat this mistake by bringing in Superman\u2019s deadliest villain in his first cinematic outing, it would feel like a massively unforced error. It would likewise be strange for the studio to return to the same villain (Lex Luthor aside) two films in a row with so many Superman rogues left on the table.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Superman\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Who else could it be?<\/p>\n

There are a few more Ultraman theories floating around that range from plausible to nearly impossible. One of the stronger lines of thinking posits that Ultraman will be some adaptation of the character Bizarro. This one checks a few boxes.<\/p>\n

As stated before, Ultraman\u2019s power set strongly resembles Superman, leading fans to suspect he is Kryptonian in origin or DNA. Ultraman\u2019s alliance with Luthor suggests that the classic Superman villain extends some ability to sway the mystery threat. The villain\u2019s long hair and dirty costume likewise suggest Luthor has the character under some form of control or imprisonment. Perhaps Luthor, using Clark\u2019s DNA, managed to create a Superman clone he can use for his own purposes. <\/p>\n

There are a few things working in this theory\u2019s favor. Ultraman\u2019s obscured face in all released footage could be meant to hide Clark Kent actor David Corenswet\u2019s recognizable mug. This would also be the first time the classic DC villain Bizarro received a big-screen adaptation (unless we\u2019re counting that weird scene from Christopher Reeve\u2019s \u201cSuperman III\u201d). Though Bizarro recently appeared extensively on CW\u2019s \u201cSuperman & Lois,\u201d Gunn would get some credit for digging a bit deeper into Superman\u2019s villain roster.<\/p>\n

A similar theory suggests that Ultraman might be a new version of the Superman villain Parasite. Parasite\u2019s ability to absorb the powers of people he touches would explain the character\u2019s speed, strength and heat vision in the trailers. Like Bizarro, this would be a villain who, despite some TV adaptations, has yet to appear in theaters.<\/p>\n

Of course, it\u2019s possible that Ultraman will simply be revealed as a generic individual who\u2019s been given Superman\u2019s powers. With the presence of Krypto and Supergirl in this universe, it\u2019s possible the villain will be another surviving Kryptonian under Lex\u2019s control. Some fans even suggest Ultraman\u2019s mask actually conceals Henry Cavill, with the actor joining the new DC universe as an evil version of his darker Superman adaptation. This one seems \u2026 unlikely.<\/p>\n

Whoever Ultraman is, fans will have to wait until \u201cSuperman\u201d hits theaters July 11 to find out.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Superman\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cSuperman\u201d releases in just over two weeks, and the marketing campaign for the film continues in overdrive. Today,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12115,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[171,956,53,9180,67,132,68,1021],"class_list":{"0":"post-12114","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-james-gunn","10":"tag-movies","11":"tag-superman","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us","15":"tag-warner-bros"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114741195914431822","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}